ABSTRACT
Introduction: During the early phase of Coronavirus disease (COVID-19), there were various uncertainties, which had a detrimental impact on the prevalence of burnout among critical care personnel worldwide. This study aims to investigate the prevalence of burnout and its associated factors in critical care personnel involved in the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: This is a single-center, cross-sectional study with 81 critical care personnel for a survey using Copenhagen Burnout Inventory. Binary logistic regression analysis was conducted to identify factors associated with personal burnout. Results: More than half of the respondents were female (60.5%) over the age of 30 (61.7%), and 54.3% were medical doctors. A large number (72.8%) of the respondents experienced personal burnout, with two-thirds of them experiencing work-related (65.4%) and client-related burnout (59.3%). Personal burnout was found to be associated with those who had children [OR: 11.31 (1.90, 67.37), p = 0.008], stayed with family, relatives, or friends [OR: 9.40 (1.27, 69.46), p = 0.028], were medical doctors [OR: 26.52 (2.79, 252.22), p = 0.004], worked more than 45 hours per week [OR: 8.68 (1.45, 58.09), p = 0.018], and previously never had COVID-19 viral test [OR: 6.93 (1.17, 40.89), p = 0.033]. Conclusion: Overall, more than half of the critical care personnel experienced burnout. There were possible associations between personal burnout with social characteristics such as having children and living with family, relatives, or friends, and occupational characteristics such as being a medical doctor, long working hours, and previously never had COVID-19 viral test. © 2023 Authors. All rights reserved.
ABSTRACT
Worsened by the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, first-year college students face unique academic and social stressors during the transitional period from high school to college. The present study examined the role of psychological resources (i.e., hope, gratitude, and COVID-19 protective self-efficacy) in mitigating the negative psychological impact of the pandemic. Four hundred seventy-six first-year college students (M-age = 17.97, SD = .59;70.8% female) from a large private university in New York completed two online surveys during the first and seventh week of the Fall 2020 academic semester, respectively. We found that gratitude, hope, and COVID-19 protective self-efficacy were associated with improved psychological well-being over time. Our findings suggest that hope mitigated the detrimental consequences of those with low levels of COVID-19 protective self-efficacy. Specifically, first-year college students with low levels of COVID-19 protective self-efficacy and low levels of hope experienced greater loneliness over time. In contrast, we found that gratitude enhanced the benefits of having high levels of COVID-19 protective self-efficacy. Among those with high levels of gratitude, COVID-19 protective self-efficacy was associated with lower depressive symptoms over time, but this relationship was not significant among those with low levels of gratitude. Hope mitigated the detrimental consequences of those with low levels of COVID-19 protective self-efficacy, while gratitude enhanced the ameliorative effects of those with high levels of COVID-19 protective self-efficacy. One limitation of the present study is the generalizability of the sample to first-year college students from other educational settings and geographic regions. Implications for college students and university administrators are discussed.
ABSTRACT
Background: There is limited data regarding the presenting clinical characteristics of COVID-19 in children. Our objective is to describe the clinical presentations and outcomes of COVID-19 infection early in the pandemic at our institution. Methods: We performed a retrospective chart review of children up to 18 years who underwent testing for SARS CoV-2 from March 1st to May 10th 2020 at our pediatric emergency department. We abstracted patient's demographics, clinical presentation, diagnostic studies and patient disposition. We classified the severity of clinical illness based on published criteria. We excluded patients diagnosed with Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome in Children (MIS-C) associated with COVID-19. Results: SARS CoV-2 testing was performed on 481 patients of whom 43 (8.9%) tested positive. Of these, 4 were diagnosed with MIS-C. Data of 39 patients were analyzed. Patients' demographics, co-morbidities, presenting signs and symptoms and disposition are shown in Table 1. Age range was 47 days - 18 years. Infants representing one third (14/39;35.9%) of our study cohort. There was equal sex distribution. Asthma or obesity was present in 17 (44%). The most common presenting symptoms included fever, cough, shortness of breath and diarrhea. Chest radiograph showed pneumonia in 12 (30.8%) patients. Two thirds (27/39;69.2%) were asymptomatic or had mild disease;six patients (15.4%) had severe or critical illness (Figure 1). Nineteen (48%) patients were admitted to the general pediatric service. Eleven (28%) were admitted to the Intensive Care Units (ICU). The characteristics, presenting symptoms and interventions performed in the PICU cohort are shown in Table 2. Half of these patients required mechanical ventilation. There was one death in a 3 month old infant unrelated to SARS CoV-2. Majority of the infants required hospitalization (12/14;85.7%), including 4 to the PICU (one each for non accidental trauma, ingestion, seizure and pneumonia). Conclusion: Majority (17;43%) of our children with COVID-19 had a mild disease. Eleven (28%) including 4 infants required critical care;5 required mechanical ventilation. There was no COVID-19 related mortality. Larger studies are needed to further define the spectrum of COVID- 19 and risk factors associated with severe disease in children. (Table Presented).